Here are my top 3

1) PSA - One of the originals I like their cases and I think their grading is mostly legit.

2) BGS- Not a Beckett fan, but they are tough graders so if you are buying a card off Ebay , you know it is going to be nice. ** What is with them selling so many graded cards themselves?? Conflict of Interest? ( What the hell is up with their BccG service?) Too many 10s and 9s!

3) SGC - I don't think they all overly popular, but they are old skool, and have decent grades.


Most of the other companies seem to be either really lax or just plain fake, I mean how many 10s can there be?? SOme are "homemade" beware!

Any other decent grading compaines out there?

As far as resale, it's BGS, PSA, and then SGC.

As far as what I personally like, it's PSA, CTA (the point scale one, you know exactly what and where they found flaws), and then BGS.

I don't have any CTAs, I will have to check them out.

cool

I like PSA SGC and BGS

Without a doubt in my mind, it's BGS.
The first time I sent cards in to be graded was to PSA. I swear to this day that a few of the cards I got back has dings in the corners that werent there when I sent them in. I use a 10x lens, same as them, to see which cards I think worthy of grading. After all, it can get pretty expensive.
Anyway, ever since then I have sent my cards to BGS. They are tough, but they are very fair. They give grades on corners, surface wear, centering, & edges. This way you know why your card got the great it did. PSA just gives you one overall grade.


BGS all the way!

I agree that BGS is tough and has the most credibility. I wonder if they've ever rated a card as 10.0?

Originally posted by plunge
I agree that BGS is tough and has the most credibility. I wonder if they've ever rated a card as 10.0?

I believe I have a Pristine Shawn Green that I bought for like $60. It's not worth a ton, but nice to say I own one.

Owning a BGS 10 Pristine card is credible to say the least. I'm still looking and will have one or more soon. BGS is the only grading company I use for my cards. I have bought and resold PSA MGS and SGC. Not bad but not to the standard, shape and quality of product as BGS.

Originally posted by considerittraded
Without a doubt in my mind, it's BGS.
The first time I sent cards in to be graded was to PSA. I swear to this day that a few of the cards I got back has dings in the corners that werent there when I sent them in. I use a 10x lens, same as them, to see which cards I think worthy of grading. After all, it can get pretty expensive.
Anyway, ever since then I have sent my cards to BGS. They are tough, but they are very fair. They give grades on corners, surface wear, centering, & edges. This way you know why your card got the great it did. PSA just gives you one overall grade.


BGS all the way!

Do you collect any vintage??? I have considered to send a couple that I have to BGS but would really hate to screw with my collection of PSA 8 1959's.... I would be real curious as to what BGS would grade some of these... I would just hate for them to come back any lower......

I like BGS & PSA... SGC, third.

BGS - I like the thicker slab, the grading breakdown, and the reporting on their website for population. You know you've got what you expect to get with their grading. I am rarely if ever disappointed with their grading.

PSA - the slab is thin, and I have seen many broken ones from PSA. They give no details on why they grade the way they do, nor do they provide any sort of population reporting. All you can do is verify your card to be the one it is. They're a distant 2nd to BGS in my book. There's a lot they could do to improve their offering.

SGC - mixed reviews... I just have no desire to use them.

Overall... grading prices need to come down a lot! If you go through the ebay links to SGC or BGS, you can get a 10% discount. However, the only way to get a reasonable price for grading, which is still a lot if you include shipping and the cost of the holders that you lose in the process, is to send your cards out in bulk.

thekingpin

thekingpin stated that the only way to get a good deal on getting cards graded is in bulk. It would be great if a bunch of us could send our cards in together to get the bulk rate. The legistics would be a nightmare though. May as this site develops we can work something out.

Originally posted by considerittraded
thekingpin stated that the only way to get a good deal on getting cards graded is in bulk. It would be great if a bunch of us could send our cards in together to get the bulk rate. The legistics would be a nightmare though. May as this site develops we can work something out.

They would all have to be different cards too because there would be no way of telling the same card apart as to who it is, and of course both parties are going to want the higher graded one.

PSA is all i go by......they are the best

Hey PSA if your reading this, " you need to be more user friendly". Anyone can send a card to Beckett, without a mega purchase or committment. BGS is the best, however with all gradings, if you don't get a minimum Mint, you just threw good money at bad money!
See ya at the convention.

considerittraded... I thought about posting a similar suggestion. I'm based in NYC... as it appears that many of us on here are as well. I'd be more than happy to organize a mass submission to BGS if people are interested. However, only in the NYC area, where people can pick up and drop off their cards.

While we couldn't send 2 of the same card from 2 different people, I am sure that we can figure out a way to go about it, should that happen. Something to be dealt with on a case by case basis I guess.

Anyone interested?

I personally use PSA. Great turnaround times. Holders aren't the best but they do the job. I will not use BGS as there is a confict of interest with their pricing of their own cards. Pisses me off seeing a company set prices for their own cards. I have heard good things about SGC especially if you are into pre war cards.

kingpin, I'm in NY and would be willing to go in on a group deal with BGS. I've been procrastinating w/ my UD Griffey rookie and have it in a screw-down. I'm actually scared if I touch it the wrong way when I transfer it for sending to BGS.

cta does a decent job on grading but cant say i would recommend only because of the resale value if its not the big three your going to lose alot of money

anyone else besides plunge interested in doing a BGS group send in from the NYC area?

I usually use KSA, which is a Canadian grading company, and do a great job of grading. PSA is a real scam, sent a card to them, what I received was another card, with a lower grade. The card I sent, which I scanned beforehand, was not the card I sent them. Raised hell with them, they thought I was joking, until I sent them the evidence. Why PSA is said to be the best, sure makes me wonder, how many others they scammed.

P-retty
S-orry
A-mateurs

nuff said!

what can you do legally about that, that would suck.